SHERBROOKE: The Manifestation internationale d’art de Québec have chosen Vicky Chainey Gagnon (Sherbrooke) as Commissioner of the Manif d’art 7. The concept of resistance will be the main focus of this major event in current visual arts. In May - June 2014, this Quebec biennial will involve close to a hundred exhibitions and activities.

As Director/Curator of the Foreman Art Gallery at Bishop’s University, Vicky Chainey Gagnon is recognized for her innovative work and her interest in emerging practices. Her research into citizen museology has led to new forms of cultural mediations which have been highlighted within the framework of a series of exhibitions presented recently. The Society of Quebec museums awarded her the Prix Relève 2011, in recognition of her achievements which have contributed to the advance of Quebec museology.

Guidelines for Manif d’art 7, as defined by the newly chosen Commissioner Vicky Chainey Gagnon, will depict the topic “resistance”. The event will begin by recognizing the critical role played by both visual and media arts in the documentation of conflicts and demonstrations of resistance. As Chainey Gagnon indicates, contributions through personal expression regarding policy, war, social injustices and the human condition will be also examined:

“The news is marked by various disturbing waves of extreme fundamentalism, the euphoric speculation and consumerism, compounded with widespread unemployment, banking and stock exchange crises, not to mention ecological issues. In the recent context of a global economic meltdown, the moment seems favourable to take a look at contemporary artistic productions which speak about the articulation of modes of resistance that we see today.»

The Commissioner will look further into the topic by approaching the many tactics and strategies which enable current radical practices. In each case, it is the political function of art, film, video and the performance arts which will be examined.

Biography: Vicky Chainey Gagnon is Director/Curator of the Foreman Art Gallery, on the campus of Bishop’s University (Sherbrooke, Quebec). She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in film and the History of Art from Concordia University (Montreal-1999) and a Masters in Interdisciplinary Studies (York University, Toronto - 2005). Until 2011, she carried out her doctoral research on citizen museology at the Centre d’études interdisciplinaires sur la société et la culture de l’Université Concordia, where she was awarded several bursaries, including one from Fonds québécois de la recherche en société et culture and one from the Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada.

Since 2005, Vicky Chainey Gagnon has organized projects at the Foreman Art Gallery. She also worked on a series of international residencies, entitled ‘How Does Art Teach?’ In 2009, she was responsible for launching the Community Laboratory of Art, a special media project aimed at exploring, from a creative point of view, current and urgent social questions and the way in which they directly affect our communities.

Essays and other writings by Vicky Chainey Gagnon have appeared in publications throughout Canada and the United States. She has taught museology in the History and Theory of Art program at Bishop's University, and sat on many committees with the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and Conseil des Arts du Canada. In 2012, Vicky Chainey Gagnon took part in the residency entitled ‘The Decapitated Museum’, at the Banff Center for the Arts.

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Photo: Vicky Chainey Gagnon (courtesy of François Lafrance)